THRILL: Rescued
by Lady Monozuki
Summary: Everything is against him. He never imagined the day where he would be alone, trying to prove himself on a different level. What he doesn't know is that someone is trying to help. So why does help hurt so much? Eventual Thrill. Sequel to Hopeless.
1. Chapter One: Support

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

Lady Monozuki: Ha! You didn't have to wait months for the sequel to come out like the last time. I am finally enjoying writing this fic again. I hope you all enjoy! Thank you everyone for keeping up with this story so far.

_Chapter One: Support_

He watched as Ryoma's parents hugged the zombie-like teen. There was no reaction or emotion on Echizen's face. However, he did not miss how when his father pat his son on the back, that the teen tensed up. He frowned and decided to test the waters himself. He headed toward Ryoma and took a few steps closer than he normally would. The other seemed to shrink in his presence. Fuji decided to initiate a hug. This time, the reaction was him visibly flinching and trying to push him away. It was hard to deal with, but at least he had an idea of what had happened.

Now was not the time to ask him about his time in prison though. He would never ask a serious question in front of Ryoma's family, especially when it seemed that the other was desperately trying to keep it a secret. It would only make matters worse and he would do anything to not make matters worse for Ryoma right now. He noticed that Ryoma was looking around to see if there were more people to see him. However, Fuji knew that Echizen was looking for one person in particular.

"Did no one else want to see me?" he heard Echizen mumble. He heard the anguish in the other's voice, though it was well concealed.

"We thought that we'd keep it small. We can invite the rest of your friends over later," his mom reassured.

Ryoma looked at him. Even if the face always looked the same, he could see the questions. They were the questions that he couldn't answer in front of Echizen's parents though. He silently told Ryoma that they could discuss this later. They walked to the vehicle and piled in. Ryoma ended up in a seat next to him and he could tell that the other was tense about being in close proximity of him. He tried not to be offended, but it still stung.

The car ride home was silent, far too silent for people who had just picked up their son from prison. There were no questions as to how Ryoma was doing or inquiries about what happened there. The mood was tense and he wondered if this had anything to do with his presence. He didn't belong there, he knew that. However, he knew that the support was needed at the time.

"Fuji-san, are we going to drop you off at your home?" Echizen-san asked.

Fuji tossed a glance at Ryoma, who seemed indifferent about everything. It was as if he had retreated into his own world, not wanting to be a part of the real world any more.

"That's fine, Echizen-san."

He wasn't going to overstay his welcome. They had let him come along for the ride and now he was sure that they wanted to spend time with Ryoma, alone. The car turned toward the direction of his house. He sighed. There wasn't much he could do about it. Ryoma didn't seem to care about anything at the moment, except he knew that the other wanted answers. He figured the other could call him over so they could talk. No doubt Ryoma wanted to know why Tezuka dumped him and wanted reassurance that it wasn't anything that he had done.

It was going to be painful to help him through this without being able to help him completely. There were certain lines that couldn't be crossed and it would be a struggle to keep his feelings in check. He wanted to make sure that Ryoma was going to be fine first and then everything else could fall into place after that.

Ryoma stared blankly ahead. He was trying to forget everything that had happened in the past week and a half. While he may not have stayed long in prison, it had felt like an eternity. So much had happened in a little amount of time. It was hard to wrap his mind around it. There was the guilt, the pain, and the shame that lingered. How was he ever going to be able to face anyone again? Sitting next to Fuji was one of the hardest things in his life. He knew that Fuji was not the person who had hurt him, but it did not erase the fear that it could happen again.

He tried to separate his fears from reality, but it was hard to do. That's why he preferred to stay silent and not have anything to do with the rest of the world. It was the only way he couldn't get hurt again. When his father had asked Fuji they were taking him home, he couldn't bring himself to care. Yes, he had lots of questions for Fuji. However, he was so emotionally and mentally exhausted right now that he knew nothing good would come of it.

Right now, he was on the edge of breaking down. He didn't want his sempai to see that. It was bad enough that Fuji had come to pick him up and see how he was treated, but there was little he could do. He knew that his sempai cared about him and was glad to have one person who did so. Of course he knew that he was silly to expect everyone to be there for him, especially one person in particular.

He knew that he should want to see Kunimitsu after they had broke up, but part of him had hoped that it wasn't real and that he had been dreaming all of this time. Yet, Fuji had shown up instead of Kunimitsu, it was a sign that was things were really over between them. He hated it. He hated that he had lost the one person he cared about just because he had gone to prison. Why did everything have to turn out this way? And why did he have to pay the price for it all. It hadn't mattered if he had been innocent all of this time, they hadn't cared and he had suffered in more than ones. It bothered him to know that there was no justice in the end, except that he had lost everything.

His life was nothing more than broken pieces that he had to pick back up and somehow put them all together in places that they didn't fit, just to have his life return to some form of normality. Ryoma had no idea how he was going to accomplish it either considering he was never the type of person to ask for help. There was no way in hell that he was going to ask for his parents help. He would have to explain to them what had happened and he didn't want them to think any less of him than they probably already did.

Deep down, he knew that Fuji had an inkling about what had happened during his stay. He wanted to tell the other, but he couldn't. He didn't know how the other would handle everything that he had to say. And there was always the chance that Fuji would leave him too, just like Kunimitsu. He couldn't risk that. Which meant that he was back to handling this on his own again. It was the only way in his mind now. Nothing was going to change it either.

"Echizen, would you walk with me to the door?" Fuji asked politely. He looked up from his spot on the car floor and realized that they had stopped in front of Fuji's house. He nodded slowly and exited the vehicle after Fuji. Syuusuke thanked his parents for the ride before closing the car door. There was a painful silence for a couple of seconds before Fuji spoke.

"I may not know all of what happened to you and I may not have all the answers to your questions either. However, I want you to know that if you ever need to talk that I'm here for you. I'm not going to let you go through this alone. Even if you don't want me to pry, I won't stand by and let you suffer through everything without the support of someone. If you can't go to your family, come to me. As long as you talk to someone about everything that you've gone through."

He met Fuji's eyes for once and didn't flinch or move away. There was sincerity like he had never seen before in Syuusuke. It was weird to see that from him, but he appreciated it all the same. He knew that he could trust his sempai to keep whatever he said a secret. It wouldn't be help against him either, not when it was something like this.

"I'll think about it, Fuji."

Fuji smiled. It was a soft smile, not the one that he always wore. It also contained relief. He understood that he had just made Fuji genuinely happy about something. Even if he didn't understand what, he couldn't help but feel glad too.

"I'll talk to you later then, Echizen. I'll be sure to pass on the good news that you're few to everyone on the team."

"Just make sure that they don't come over to see me today, Fuji. I don't want to have visitors right now."

"Understood, I'll even tie Oishi up if he tries to come over and baby you."

He smirked. He knew that Fuji would make good of that considering the other seemed to have an obsession with typing people up. It was almost worse than his love for wasabi.

"I'll leave them to you. Ganbatte, you're going to need it."

"Not really, they're quite easy to handle if you know how to deal with them."

He shivered. He could only imagine what his sempai meant by those words. Whatever it was, it did not bode well for the rest of the team. He looked back at the vehicle and decided that he should head back.

"I'll talk to you later."

He walked back to the car, all too aware that a set of blue eyes were following him. He didn't let that bother him though. He knew that Fuji just wanted to ensure he made it back safely. Once he got in the car, did he see go inside. It was a relief and yet he already missed the companionship. Even if Fuji had made him so tense, he knew that deep down it wasn't because of anything that Syuusuke had done. He was stupid for carrying over the fear. However, right now, all he could do was carry it from one person to another.

He just couldn't imagine seeing Tezuka in this state. There was already going to be a huge problem when he got to see his former boyfriend again. He could only imagine that everything would be significantly worse if he didn't have control over his emotions.

Fuji made one call after another, telling everyone the good news. He had to calmly reassure everyone that Echizen was fine and that they could visit him soon. It had taken a while to convince Oishi, Kikumaru, and Momoshiro not to barge into the younger boy's house. Now there was only one person on the list to call and he wasn't even sure he wanted to at this point. After everything that Tezuka had done to Ryoma, why did the other still care about the younger boy? It wasn't about them being on the same team, there was still something else that he was missing. Maybe there was remaining guilt for dumping the other boy.

Whatever the reason, it made him angry. However, he said that he would call the Regulars and that's what he was going to do. He dialed the number and waited for the other to pick up.

"Fuji," came the cold greeting. There wasn't any proper greeting, but he figured as much.

"Tezuka," he said with iciness lacing his word. "Echizen is out of prison. He's headed home right now. He asked me to tell everyone not to come and visit him right now."

"When did you have contact with Echizen?"

"I went to pick him up with his family."

"You really are going after him, aren't you?" Tezuka asked.

He couldn't understand the tone of disbelief coming from the other end of the line. However, that was beside the point.

"I'm helping him through this. In case you don't remember, _you're_ the one who abandoned him. I don't want him to have to handle this alone, which is something you obviously didn't care about when you dumped him. He was innocent and you dumped him in jail, when he was already afraid and alone. He had no one to protect him there and he doesn't have anyone to protect him now. I'm not going to sit back and let him get through this by himself. He needs someone, Tezuka. I am going to be that someone this time."

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter Two: School

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

**Lady Monozuki: **Ah, I finally got to update another story that hasn't seen an update in far too long. I feel accomplished. Thank you to those who still remember this story and reviewed it in its down time.

With all of that being said, I am going to say that I am finding it extremely difficult to keep up with the number of stories I have going. Between them, plus work, and everything life seems to be dumping down on me, it's been hard to find time to write. So, in order to figure out which stories you are most interested in, I am asking you to review. I want you to review your favorite story of mine so I can determine an update schedule. The story/stories with the most reviews will be updated first, followed by the ones with the least amount of updates. I'm hoping to run a bi-weekly schedule. Popular stories the first week, less popular the second week. So, if this is your favorite story, please review!

_Chapter Two: School_

Ryoma didn't want the clock to go off in the morning. He hit the snooze button before covering his head with his blanket. Today, he was going to have to go back to school. It was the one place that he didn't want to go anywhere near. Not after everything that had happened there. He had pleaded with his family to let him transfer, but they had refused.

They didn't understand what he was going through, why he didn't want to be there ever again. There were too many bad memories of that place and he had to face Kuni—Tezuka. He wasn't sure he could do that right now. It had only been two days since his release. He bit back tears. There wasn't any excuse that he could use to get out of school though. Not with his parents so excited for him to be home and readjust back to his normal life.

They had been going on about how it would be good for him and will help him move on from the whole ordeal. If only they knew.

"Ryoma," came his mother's soft voice. He didn't answer. He knew that she would continue to speak regardless. "Ryoma, it's almost time for you to leave for school."

He didn't make any motion to get out of bed. His mother's soft footsteps went down the hall. He knew that if he stayed in bed, his father would come and wake him up next. And that alone was an unpleasant experience. Ryoma got out of bed and dressed in his school uniform. He grabbed his items and headed down the stairs. He could hear his cousin and father laughing in the kitchen. Deciding to skip the family affair, he left without saying goodbye.

To his surprise, Fuji was walking up the path to his door. A smile was planted on the other's face, as if it was frozen there forever. He shook slightly as Fuji took a step closer.

"Ah, Echizen," Fuji said in a soft voice. "I was coming to see if you would like company on the way to school."

"I think I know the way, thank you."

He walked past the brunette, who had chuckled at his response.

"It's no fun to walk alone. Besides, once Eiji and Oishi see you, they'll bombard you with a thousand questions. I'm the only one who can scare them off."

He paused and thought about that for a moment. It was true that as soon as he walked past those gates, the hyperactive acrobatics player and his fretting doubles partner would fuss over him. Eiji would actually latch himself on to him. He shuddered at the thought.

That was too much contact for him to handle. And as much as he wanted to refuse Fuji of the offer to walk to school, it seemed like a good idea. Not that he was defenseless. He could handle himself—in most situations. His teammates, however, didn't understand boundaries. It was a part of what made them…well, them.

"Fine, you can walk with me."

The smile on the tensai's face grew wider. It was a genuine smile, something very rare and unexpected. How could he have put that smile there?

They walked together in comfortable silence. Fuji didn't attempt to talk to him much, which he appreciated. Another thing that he appreciated was the fact that Fuji was keeping a distance between them. He wouldn't intentionally stand next to him, unless the sidewalk was narrow. And even then, he would still stand a few feet behind him, careful not to sneak up on him suddenly. It was odd.

But there was a part of him that appreciated it. However, his mind screamed at him, telling him that there was something off about Fuji's behaviour. That voice was quickly silenced at the sight of school. Dread started to settle in again. There was the fear of seeing everyone again, seeing how they would look at him after his time in prison. Worst of all, seeing Tezuka now that they had broken up. He wanted to turn around and leave.

"Don't worry, Echizen. I'm right here," Fuji whispered loud enough so only he could hear.

They walked through the gate. He noticed that Fuji's presence alone seemed to be enough to make anyone reconsider going near him. They still looked at him, of course. He knew they were talking about him, pointing at him, but none of them dared to approach him. Of course, that quickly ended when he saw a familiar red-haired individual bouncing toward them.

"Ochibi!" Eiji shouted across campus. If one wasn't used to the acrobatics player's speed, they wouldn't have seen him attach himself to Echizen. Or at least, that's what he would have done if Kikumaru hadn't run into Fuji first.

"Mou, I'm hurt that you only noticed Echizen, Eiji." Fuji's voice was playful and gentle. But the acrobatics player still reacted.

"Waah! I'm sorry, Fujiko! I was just so excited to see Ochibi!"

Fuji chuckled, accepting the bone-crushing hug from Eiji. Fuji shot him a look, silently inquiring if he was all right. Ryoma nodded. After all, his sempai had just saved him from a situation that could have been very bad. He didn't want to think about it right now. He just hoped that there would be no more hugging attempts.

"Ochibi!" He was brought back to reality at that call. He walked as close to Fuji and Eiji as he could stand. The red-headed player seemed content to be latched on to Fuji, which was good for him.

"Hello, sempai," he greeted.

"It's so good to see you! Since you've been gone, everyone's been super stressed and worrying. Practice isn't as fun without you there. Even Tezuka has been high-strung. Yesterday he made everyone run laps until the sun set! Everyone missed you so much!"

_I doubt that._

He figured that Tezuka was probably high-strung because of the fact that he would be returning to school and that coward didn't want to face him.

"Eiji! There you are!" a panicked voice exclaimed. He looked as the fukubuchou of the tennis team made his way toward them. "You were supposed to meet me in the study hall before school so we could go over math notes. We have a test today, or did you forget that already?"

"Hoi? No way! That can't be today!" Eiji whined. "What am I going to do? I haven't studied properly! Oishi!"

"Come on. If we start now, we can at least cover two chapters before the test." Oishi almost walked away without saying a word to him. But then, "It's good to see you, Echizen. Welcome back."

He smiled. "Thank you, sempai."

Oishi dragged Eiji away from them. Even though they were further away, he could still hear Eiji's voice loud and clear. He and Fuji made their way toward the classes. He froze at the end of the hallway. There were so many people crowding against each other, trying to make it to their classes. He looked at Fuji, who seemed to have noticed his distress, but really couldn't do anything about it. His class was in the middle of the hallway. And there were so many people in between him and there.

He trembled slightly, trying to calm himself down, but his heart pounded loudly in his ears. No matter what, he was going to have to get through this. Even if he didn't want to, he couldn't ask Fuji to part the sea of people. Fuji didn't have that kind of power.

Suddenly, Fuji opened his eyes. The effect was almost immediate. The people glanced at Fuji in terror before fleeing to their respective classrooms.

Okay. Maybe Fuji did have that kind of power.

"Thanks," he muttered."

"If you need me, I'm in glass 3-A."

Fuji left him there in the hallway. He walked toward his classroom. He stopped in front of the door, trying to contain his shaking. There was no one to protect him here. Ryoma slid it open. Several pairs of eyes stared at him as he entered the room. He avoided their glances.

"Good to see you, Echizen-san," his teacher greeted.

He nodded at his teacher. He headed over to his seat, feeling the look of others looking at him. He pulled out his book, not really reading it, but it was what he needed in order to ignore the others. His teacher started roll call. It was going to be a long day.

-THRILL-

The bell rang for the day, dismissing anyone who wasn't a part of an extracurricular activity. To his surprise, Fuji was waiting for him outside of his classroom. It was a welcome surprise, especially since the entire day had been spent trying to avoid people as much as possible. During lunch, he had escaped to the roof so that he wouldn't have to face them.

Now he had someone to protect him once again. He nodded at Fuji, who walked with him to the clubhouse. He took in a deep breath and entered the place where everyone changed, prepped their equipment, and chatted as though there was nothing wrong. As soon as he walked through, he could feel every eye upon him. It was uncomfortable.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Fuji said in an usually cheery voice, that usually promised pain and misery to anyone who dared to get in his path. For the second time that day, everyone filed out of the place at a rapid pace. Maybe he had been underestimating Fuji all of this time.

Once everyone had cleared the clubhouse, Fuji turned around and smiled at him.

"Why don't you change first? I think today is a pleasant day to get some revenge."

Before he could protest, the tensai was gone. He had barely changed out of his uniform when he heard the screams of tennis players across the court. Fuji hadn't been kidding. He quickly put on his outfit and grabbed his gear before making his way toward the door.

To his surprise, the door opened and in walked the last person he wanted to see—Tezuka. He took a step back, taking in the older man before him. He swallowed hard, trying to remember how to speak in this situation. What did he do to deserve this? Tezuka shut the door behind him. He backed away even more, remembering his time in prison.

"Ryoma," Tezuka said quietly. There was still gentleness in the voice that Tezuka had always reserved for him.

"Kunimitsu," he said before he could stop himself. He hadn't meant to call the other by his first name. After all, he didn't think that it would be right for him to do so after they had—

_Don't think about that._

"Are you all right?" Tezuka asked with genuine concern. The respectable captain took a step toward him. He held his breath. Silently wishing for Kunimitsu not to get any closer. It seemed that his captain couldn't read his expression though.

Before he could do anything, he was enveloped in a hug.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter Three: Reaching Out

**Dislciamer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

**Lady Monozuki:** I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews. It was nice to read them. As you can see, this story is being updated this week, which means that it'll be updated every second and fourth week. This was actually tied for reviews between Stand in the Rain and Things to Never Do with Fuji, so I decided to mix up which stories get released because of the tie. Please continue to support this story with more reviews! Enjoy!

_Chapter Three: Reaching Out_

Fuji happily surveyed the damage on the courts. Maybe it had been a bit early to spike everyone's drinks with one of Inui's delicious concoctions, but he had to punish them somehow for talking about Echizen the way that they had earlier. Oh revenge was sweet. He chuckled happily as the bodies twitched on the courts. The only people spared from his wrath were the Regulars. He figured that practice alone would be grueling enough without them all dying from what they called "poison."

Inui scribbled in a notebook next to him, obviously taking in the same notes that he was. It was really an effective way to kill off the rest of the tennis team. The rest of the Regulars looked at each other in horror and then threw wary glances and both him and Inui. It seemed that his innocent smile had given him away. And he was certain that Inui's mad chuckling wasn't helping the (for once) innocent data master. Then again, Inui had made the drink.

_Technicalities._

Fuji noticed that there were two people missing from the courts. Echizen and Tezuka. A scream tore through the courts. It was a bit distant, but Fuji recognized it immediately. His body reacted before his mind caught up.

Ryoma could only see the man who had raped him. He could only feel the fingers against his skin, touching every part of him. He could hear the voice telling him how good he was. He fought against the arms wrapped around him. They were suffocating him, holding him in place.

A scream escaped his lips.

"Leave me alone!" he shouted at the man. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone!"

The arms let him go, but he still felt them. They burnt his skin with their fiery touch. They were still there in his mind. He dropped to the floor, brokenly repeating himself. He wanted to be free from them, but they wouldn't go away. He let himself cry.

Tezuka stared in shock over his sobbing ex-boyfriend. He had simply hugged him when the other exploded and had a meltdown. Even though he had let Ryoma go, his ex was still sitting on the floor, begging to be left alone. He was at a loss for what to do.

He took a step forward, reaching out to the younger teen. He wasn't going to sit by and let Ryoma cry openly. He was going to comfort his ex.

"Don't!" a voice said harshly. He looked to see Syuusuke walk in the clubhouse. The fierce blue eyes were piercing him, freezing him in place. "Don't touch him _ever_ again, Tezuka."

"You have no right to tell me what to do, Fuji."

"You don't know what's going on with him. So leave him the alone."

"How the hell do you know what he's going through?"

"Because I was there." The words pierced his heart. He knew Syuusuke was right. "Get out of the clubhouse. I'll take Echizen home."

He wanted to stay and give Syuusuke a piece of his mind, but hearing Ryoma's broken sobs quickly brought him to a different resolve.

"If you make it worse, Fuji, I swear I'll—"

"Do what? You have nothing to use against me."

With that last insult, Tezuka stormed out of the clubhouse. He saw several pairs of curious eyes from his teammates. They all wanted to know what was going on inside the clubhouse, questions that he wasn't going to answer.

"Everyone do fifty laps, now!" he snapped.

They scurried at his command.

Fuji stayed at a distance from the sobbing teen. He didn't really know how to break Echizen out of this state, but he was sure that he could do a better job than Tezuka would at it. In fact, he was determined not to let Tezuka near Ryoma ever again.

"Ryoma," he whispered. "Ryoma, it's me, Fuji. Please stop crying. Whatever you're seeing, it's not happening. You're safe in the clubhouse. Remember? You were getting ready to play tennis with the team?"

The sobs continued. He sighed.

"Ryoma, it's okay. No one is going to hurt you ever again. I promise that no one is going to hurt you. Please talk to me, Ryoma."

The sobs turned to hiccupping. Though it wasn't much of an improvement, it was still something.

"Hey Ryoma, do you remember when Momo took you out for burgers and you two spent his entire month's allowance in an eating contest?"

The hiccupping continued, but there was faint recognition at his words.

"Or the time when Hyotei offered to take us out to a restaurant and we got into a food fight in one of the most expensive places in Japan? Remember how horrified Atobe was when he was told that he was banned from that place? His hair turned white. I wonder if it's still that color."

"F-Fuji?" Ryoma stuttered weakly.

"Yes, it's Fuji."

"Fuji," Ryoma whispered.

"What is it, Ryoma?"

"Please. Please help me."

Tezuka worked everyone who was alive until the sun had started to set. When they had all gone to change in the clubhouse, Fuji and Ryoma were gone. He frowned. He wanted to know what what had happened to Ryoma and why Fuji had been able to handle the situation better than he had. It made him angry. He wanted to punch Syuusuke for taking care of his boyfriend!

_Ex-boyfriend_, his mind corrected. He still had a hard time accepting that things were really over between him and Echizen. Especially since that he really hadn't wanted things to end in the first place.

It was the only way to help Ryoma. But in the end, it had only hurt both of them. He finished changing and locking up the clubhouse and the storage house before leaving for the day. Tezuka was lost in his own thoughts; he didn't even notice that Atobe was waiting for him at the front gates.

"Kunimitsu, how dare you keep me waiting!" the diva said arrogantly. "Do you know how long I've been waiting outside of your pathetic looking school?

Tezuka looked up at his new "boyfriend" and saw the limo parked outside.

"I doubt you were waiting that long. Your practice only ends fifteen minutes before mine and there's only a seven minute drive between the two school," he stated.

"Regardless, you're not even ready for our date tonight!"

He frowned. They had agreed to go on a date? This was news to him.

"Don't act surprised. It was the last thing I asked you before we hung up last night."

Now it was starting to come to mind. He had been so tired and annoyed that he couldn't see Ryoma at that time, that Atobe probably could have suggested that they get married while jumping off an airplane and he would have said yes.

"I'm sorry. I left the house in a hurry this morning and didn't bring a change of clothes."

It was true. He had been so anxious to see Ryoma that he had almost left the house half-dressed in his school uniform. Thankfully, his mother had commented that she didn't know that pajama bottoms were now acceptable school attire.

"Never mind. I'm sure whatever you would have picked out would be unsuitable for where we are going to spend the evening."

"And where are we spending the evening?" he asked.

"It's a surprise."

His day could not have gotten any worse.

Fuji sat in Ryoma's room. After calming the teen down earlier, he had called his sister to pick them up and take them home. However, Echizen had insisted that he stay for a few hours. Here he was, waiting to find out why he was here. He waited patiently though, knowing that Ryoma was struggling with a lot of things right now, especially with the meltdown earlier.

"I'm sorry," Ryoma whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he reassured. The other didn't seem too convinced though. He figured that his words wouldn't have much of an impact. At least, not right now. There was a lot of emotion and pain going on that Fuji doubted Ryoma would be receptive to much that he said.

"I…I had a bad time in jail," the teen struggled to get out. He noticed the pain, sadness, and fear that flashed in the golden eyes. But he didn't say anything. "I don't want to be touched by people right now. And I can't make them stop."

There was more silence to follow that sentence. He knew that there were several references that Ryoma was making in that one sentence. He could picture a few of them in his mind, and only imagine what it must have been like throughout the entire day for the young teen. After just getting out of prison, undoubtedly, there were many people who had questions and those who wanted to hug him because he was back.

"But you can. I need your help for right now. I can't fight them off and I don't want it to happen again."

Fuji knew that Ryoma meant that he didn't want to have another attack like earlier. He nodded in understanding.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Walk with me. Stay near me. Eat lunch with me…" Ryoma trailed off again. The younger teen buried his head in his knees. "I know I'm asking a lot, but I can't. I can't go through it again."

He had the feeling that this time, Ryoma was referring to what had happened in jail, but he kept his suspicions to himself. Ryoma didn't need him to pry. He needed someone who would listen, protect, and be there for him throughout everything that had happened.

"I understand. I'll keep you safe at school."

Ryoma glanced at him with relief on his face. "Really? You'll do that?"

He smiled. "I mean it, Ryoma. I'll keep you safe."

"Thank you," Ryoma whispered. "Thank you so much."

_To be continued…_


	4. Chapter Four: Comfort

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.**

**Lady Monozuki:** Thank you everyone for your reviews last chapter. The next chapter will be the last for _Rescued_, but the story will continue in the next arc, which is named something that starts with an "I" because that's the next letter in THRILL. Helpful, aren't I? Anyway, please review and enjoy this chapter.

_Chapter Four: Comfort_

Fuji waited for Echizen outside of the house. He had ended up going home after Ryoma's request, but he made sure that he was there with enough time to walk with the younger teen all the way to class that morning. He planned to get there before the main rush of students got there, but it seemed that their young tennis star was not a morning person and liked taking his dear sweet time getting ready.

Ryoma's parents had insisted that he come inside, but he had declined under the assumption that they would be briskly walking toward school, well, _thirty _minutes ago. Fuji didn't mind though. It wasn't cold outside, nor was it too warm. He supposed that it could be worse. A lot worse. So he decided to be grateful that the day was as beautiful as it was. At great length, the door opened and out stepped a half-sleeping Ryoma, who looked like he had been forced to come out instead of actually being alert and ready.

"Ready to go?" he asked with a small chuckle.

"Mm," the younger teen replied. He walked at a distance, next to Ryoma. He smiled the whole way to school, even though they hadn't talked about anything. The younger teen ran on auto-pilot, which served him very well Fuji had to admit. It seemed that Ryoma did this often.

_Probably every day._

The one thing that ruined his morning of walking with Ryoma was catching sight of Tezuka walking toward the school gates. He stopped and turned to Echizen, who had seen Tezuka as well and was beginning to slowly back away.

"I'll distract him," Fuji said. "You can climb over the wall."

Ryoma nodded in understanding. He put on his best fake smile and marched right up to Tezuka.

"Good morning, Tezuka."

The stoic teen seemed to be looking for something. Rather, _someone_.

"What do you want, Fuji?" Tezuka asked in rather harsh voice.

"Ah, so we're skipping pleasantries entirely. That's good to know. I just wanted to inform you that there's no point no looking for Echizen. You know that he's habitually late. He never shows up on time, and _you_, being a model student wouldn't want to blemish your spotless record, now would you?" Fuji said, steadily getting colder with each word. He noticed Tezuka suppress a shudder.

He mentally smirked in victory. He had always been able to get under Tezuka's skin. It was nice to be him sometimes.

"I don't care what you say, Fuji. I will speak to him and find out whatever the hell it is you know."

"I doubt you'll find out. He doesn't trust you anymore. And that's entirely your fault. Tell me, did you enjoy your _date_ with Atobe last night?"

Tezuka's eyes widened in shock. "How did you?"

"Don't underestimate me, Tezuka. You better stay away from Echizen or I'll let him know that you dumped him for Atobe."

He walked away, leaving a defeated Tezuka behind. Fuji backtracked after Tezuka had disappeared inside the school and went back to where Echizen was, who had successfully climbed the fence and lying underneath a tree.

"The coast is clear, Echizen. You'll be late for your first class if you don't hurry!"

Ryoma stood up, brushing the gross off his pants and followed him. It was nice just to be this close to the tennis prodigy. He would never let Ryoma know, not now at least, his true feelings. He would keep them secret, just for a while longer. At least until the younger teen figured everything out. But he was willing to wait.

-Rescued-

"I'll meet you for lunch," Fuji said to him before Ryoma disappeared inside his classroom. He had felt so comfortable in Fuji's presence that he didn't want the other teen to leave. But it had to happen. It wasn't possible for them to be together all of the time. The frail-looking teen was a senior and had his own obligations. Still, it had been nice just to be escorted here. And to not have to deal with Tezuka.

He trembled slightly at the thought of his ex-boyfriend. Ever since the encounter yesterday, he could erase the fears that the other had put into his heart. He wanted to be all right and strong, but the strong arms had simply reminded him of the ones that held him in place. Ryoma bit the inside his mouth, trying not to think about his time in prison or what had happened in the clubroom.

_I'm pathetic._

He couldn't even handle a simple hug without freaking out. He didn't want to be near or around other people, but it was a part of his daily life it seemed. No matter what, he would have to be around them. But he didn't want to. He just wanted to be alone in his room, with no one bothering him for the rest of his life. It sounded good. No human contact whatsoever.

_What about Fuji?_

He stared out the window. The older teen had gone out of his way to protect him, calm him down, and be there for him ever since he had been released from prison. But Fuji hadn't asked any questions about his time there or pushed him too much beyond his comfort zone. It was nice to have him there.

-Rescued-

Fuji waited outside of Ryoma's classroom as the flock of first year students walked passed him. He kept a smile on his face, ignoring their gawking and whispers. He knew that there were rumours floating around about the reason why he was walking Ryoma to and from places. He honestly didn't care what they said about him, because it was simply amusing. Really. Apparently walking someone to their class two days in a row meant that they were going out. And the fact that he was there at lunch now meant that he and Ryoma were going to sneak away for some alone time.

It was ridiculous the conclusions that they jumped to, but he wasn't going to correct them. It's what he really desired anyway. He just didn't want Ryoma to know that. Yet. The object of his desires exited the classroom last. He smiled just seeing the younger teen.

"Are you excited for lunch?" he asked.

"Aa," Ryoma answered quietly. He glared at everyone in his path. They retreated to the classrooms just to avoid accidently running into Fuji.

"Let's go then!" Fuji said happily.

He led Ryoma toward the roof, knowing that the younger teen preferred his meals in solitude rather than in public. And honestly, there was a risk factor in taking Ryoma to the cafeteria for lunch. Besides, he couldn't let the bento his sister had made for the two of them go to waste. Even if Yumiko's cooking skills weren't the best, he wasn't going to let mostly edible food spoil.

They sat on the roof in silence at first. He noticed that Ryoma hadn't received a lunch, probably due to his early arrival. So it had been a good thing to ask Yumiko to make an extra portion.

"You can share with me," he commented. "Nee-san made extra today."

-Rescued-

Ryoma stared hungrily at the food that Fuji was unpacking. It seemed that Fuji's sister had known exactly what he had liked and made extra portions of those foods. He was about to dig in when he remembered a very important ingredient that the tensai of the tennis team liked. And liked a lot of.

"This isn't covered in wasabi, is it?" he asked.

Fuji let out a chuckle. "No. Nee-san doesn't like it and refuses to put any in my food, no matter how much I beg."

Relieved, he allowed himself to take a bit. The food was good, not stellar, but good. At least it wasn't like Inui's experiment with food.

"She's a decent cook," he commented.

"If you like her food, then you should try mine."

He raised an eyebrow at the brunette.

"Don't worry, I won't put any wasabi in your portion."

"You can cook?"

"Kaa-san thought it would be a good thing for me to learn. Said that it was an important skill all males should have in case they were single forever. I never understood what she meant by that."

Ryoma choked on the food he was eating. It was hysterical that Fuji's mom saw straight through the nice persona that her son gave everyone. He coughed and laughed at the same time, trying to get a hold of himself.

"I don't think that it's funny," Fuji said, frowning.

He eventually controlled his laughter. "I look forward to trying your food, Fuji."

The tensai seemed cheered at his words. He smiled. He really could get used to being in Fuji's presence.

They finished eating early and Fuji had drifted off to sleep under the sun. He had contemplated taking a nap too, but couldn't quite bring himself to. Not when he was so exposed. Anything could happen in a moment, and he wasn't going to put himself in a situation that he could. So he stared, taking in the view. Often times, he didn't appreciate it, but this time he could.

He glanced over at the sleeping figure a little bit away from him. He edged closer to Fuji, quietly, so not to wake the older teen. He examined the relaxed look on Fuji's face, envious that one could be so carefree and unconcerned with the world around them.

He felt comfortable, even when Fuji was asleep.

"Someday," he whispered. "Someday I'll tell you everything that happened to me. Just please don't leave me."

_To be continued…_


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